A 3-Year-Old's Perspective of Walt Disney World

By Denise Ferguson
ALL EARS® Guest Columnist

Feature Article

This article appeared in the
March 23, 2004, Issue #235 of ALL EARS®
(ISSN: 1533-0753)

My daughter Ceara is 3 and her favorite place is Walt Disney
World. She told me so on our recent trip.

Before we went, I had read the email lists and guidebooks and
set upon a plan to explore the parks. I compiled a list of the
things she would be interested in and the things to avoid. I
knew what rides she could ride and shows she could see. I had
read that she might be too young to enjoy Epcot and that the
Snow White witch would terrify her. I planned the trip around
her -- what she liked, what she was interested in. I believe
that is especially important when traveling with a child.

My husband, daughter and I made the 18-hour trip to Walt Disney
World by car, breaking the traveling into two days each
direction. We packed the car with snacks, drinks, coloring
books, Disney CDs, and various other items that we'd all enjoy.
We stayed at an off-property hotel that I had booked on the
Internet. (Next time we go we will stay on property so that we
can easily return to our hotel during the day to rest, and so
that I can be well assured of the quality of the room.)

We brought Ceara's umbrella stroller from home and each day she
would jump into it and ride around until something caught her
interest. (WDW rents strollers, but we just brought Ceara's with
us, since we were driving down and the umbrella stroller didn't
take up much room in the car.) When Ceara saw something that
intrigued her she would holler at me to stop ("Mommy, I need to
see the horsey!") and then hop out on her own, grab my or her
stepfather's hand, and drag us over to see whatever excited her.

One of the rides that caught her interest was Snow White's Scary
Adventures. "Mommy! I wanna go see Snow White!" The guidebooks
were right about it, though -- she burst into tears halfway
through. Of course, then she refused to ride Peter Pan or go
into any other building because it would be scary. "Mommy, that
ride scary! The witch is mean!" That was our first day in the
parks. I thought the trip was doomed. But anything she could see
from the line, she wanted to do. She was still adventurous.

Ceara rebounded from the scary Snow White attraction and
delighted in aspects of the trip that I never thought would
thrill her. Cinderella Castle was her favorite place in the
park. She delighted in Cinderella's Surprise Celebration so much
that we ended up seeing it twice, making a special return trip
to the Magic Kingdom another night just to see it. She wouldn't
go near Captain Hook in the parks, but she cheered when Peter
Pan vanquished him from the Castle. We would have spent every
night at this show if we could have.

My daughter had avoided (was terrified of) Santa Claus at
Christmas time, but in Walt Disney World she chased after Goofy
when she saw him at Mickey's Toontown Fair. She attempted to
tackle him -- and almost knocked him over -- when she threw her
arms around his legs to give him a hug. During the character
meals we attended (lunch at the Crystal Palace and at the Land)
she could hardly contain her excitement at seeing Pooh, Tigger,
Eeyore, Piglet, Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale.

Her favorite characters were Pocahontas at Rafiki's Planet Watch
in Animal Kingdom and Belle at the Fairy Tale Garden. Both gave
her hugs and called her a "little princess." Pocahontas must
have spent nearly five minutes explaining to Ceara where her
necklace came from and why it was important to take care of the
planet. My daughter hung on to every word that these two
characters said to her. "Mommy, they said I princess, too!"

Remember the witch from Snow White? Though Ceara had declared
her scary, she cajoled me to follow the Witch around the
Disney-MGM Studios. We must have followed her for five or ten
minutes. My daughter was enchanted by her but would not go
anywhere near her. From the safety of her stroller, Ceara even
blew her a kiss!

Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the Green Army Men thrilled her at the
Studios, while Lilo, Stitch, Donald, Goofy, Mickey and Minnie
were exciting at Animal Kingdom. In addition to the characters
enchanting and entertaining Ceara, she was also impressed by
quite a few other surprises. Roving musicians on Main Street
caught her attention. The entire time they played, she danced in
front of them. At the end of every song, she approached them and
gave them "high fives." The guidebooks never mentioned that
3-year-olds would be enthralled by the street performers.
Characters, yes. Street bands, no! But she was, and it brought
endless smiles to our faces.

Rides she loved in the Magic Kingdom included Dumbo, Buzz
Lightyear, the Mad Tea Party teacups, Cinderella's Carrousel,
the Walt Disney World Railroad, the Liberty Belle riverboat, and
Goofy's Barnstormer. By the time we went to the Studios, she
consented to riding the Great Movie Ride. At Epcot, she rode the
Land boat ride, Spaceship Earth, and Ellen's Energy Adventure.
At Animal Kingdom she loved the animals that she interacted with
at Rafiki's Planet Watch and the ones that she saw on the
Kilimanjaro Safari. She also made a boyfriend -- actually a
potted tree [Wes Palm] that talked and flirted with her. It even
asked her for a kiss before continuing on its walk.

By the last day, Ceara's favorite refrain after a ride was,
"That not scary, Mommy, was it?" I was prepared for her to like
the rides. The fact that she fell in love with the performers
and the characters is another story. But every day added a few
more surprises.

We spent a day at Epcot and my daughter would have enjoyed being
there for longer than that. After all, Epcot is where her
"brother" is -- a robot that talked to her and flirted with her
and basically adopted her as its sister. The guidebooks had
warned me that Epcot might bore her -- after all it is not
geared as much to little ones. But Ceara was not bored. She
eagerly explored Innoventions -- banging doors, pushing buttons,
playing with the computers. For almost 45 minutes she ran back
and forth playing with the different displays. At the Land we
spent more than three hours. She watched the Lion King movie
that explained the Circle of Life. She made cookies and got to
wear a chef's hat. She ate at the character lunch and rode the
boat.

In the World Showcase, she danced with musicians and laughed at
the different performances. She loved making a mask and stopping
at the Kidcot Fun Stops. We missed a few on our travels, but she
enjoyed every one that she did get. In Norway, she posed with a
giant troll and lovingly patted its hand before we walked on.

At the Studios, she watched the shows. Muppet Vision 3D was
exciting, and the animation tour kept her attention because
Mushu ran all over the place. But the most entertaining part of
the day was when we ate at the 50's Prime Time Caf Our Aunt
Claire delighted Ceara by hollering at the adults to keep their
elbows off the table and feeding each of us in turn when we
didn't think we could finish one more bite. My daughter still
loves to make airplane noises as she finishes "just one more
bite." We couldn't leave without Ceara hugging and kissing Aunt
Claire.

In addition to the major characters and attractions, my daughter
was delighted by a Downtown Disney Cast Member who gifted her
with one of his pins. We pin-traded the entire trip and my
daughter asked this CM to trade with her. He handed her one of
his pins and wished her a good night. Another CM at the
barbershop in the Magic Kingdom gave my daughter a dozen
stickers just for stopping by -- we couldn't convince her to get
a haircut, but she loved the stickers.

In four days we explored four parks. The rides and attractions
were interesting, but the magic that my 3-year-old found was not
in just the big pageants. Tarzan Rocks and the Lion King show
are definitely festive, but the little moments when Ceara danced
in front of the street musicians or stalked the Wicked Witch
were even more magical. It was when her eyes lit up as she saw
Peter Pan save the castle for the second time and when she
hugged our waitress and told her that she would "see you later,
gator."

The guidebooks and tourist brochures concentrate on the Big
Moments, but when traveling with my little girl, it was the
little ones that were the MOST magical. I saw it in her smile
and when her eyes lit up. We can't wait to go back. In fact, she
already told me she would move in with Cinderella if she were
asked. One day. Until then, we have the magical memories from
seeing the magic through Ceara's eyes.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Denise and Ceara live in Ohio. Denise had been to Disney World
once as a child, but not again until this past January when she
took her 3-year-old to experience the magic. They both fell in
love with the place and hope to make Disney a traditional event
-- if not every year, then at least every few years!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Editor's Note: This story/information was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to
confirm all current rates, information and other details before planning your trip.